Despite repeated warnings
The City of Beaconsfield persisted in issuing building permits in dangerous areas. This is immoral management.
The original buyers of the houses built over the past twenty (20) years on Sussex Drive and along Beaurepaire Dr. in the former gardenning center and the gaz station were ALL promised by the promoters that a noise barrier would be built shortly.
The city is not committed by these promises from the sellers , but it illustrates the reality of the problem for all those who live in these areas.
The elephant is in the room. But those who can do something about it don’t.
Issuing permits in dangerous areas
The city has issued building permits in known dangerous zones, the purple zone (more than 70 dBA) and the red zone (more than 65 dBA), without asking for protection to reduce outside noise levels to 55 dBA!
From Baie d’Urfé to Woodland From Woodland to Saint-Charles From Saint-Charles to Pointe-Claire
The city has been informed of the dangers by experts several times. It received copies of the sound studies (1987, 2010), and of the recommendations of the environmental impact study (1986).
Still, successive Beaconsfield city council denied this scientifically measured and demonstrated public health issue.
On the next site we see the dates of construction dates of the houses. Every Beaconsfield administration (Kemp, Benedetti, Pollock and Bourelle) have issued multiple building permits in the purple and red zones.
Limit OUTSIDE noise
In accordance with the recommendations of the impact assessment, the city can regulate these constructions when issuing building permits. What regulations oblige builders in these areas to limit noise inside and outside these residences?
Fortunately, many builders of these homes provide adequate interior soundproofing. They could not sell these residences without it! But nothing has been done to reduce the OUTSIDE noise level to 55 dBA. And let’s not talk about opening the windows in summer! …
Remember the recommendations of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) which are incorporated into the Montreal Urban Development Plan and of the World Health Organisation:
“It is necessary to reduce the interior noise below 30 to 35 dBA and exterior below 55 dBA”.
We understand that the logic is probably to collect more property tax through these residential developments without spending public funds to protect them with sound barriers. This denial of the known risks to their health of these new residents is very unwise.
Immoral blindness
From a moral point of view, there is no significant difference between doing and letting go, between killing and letting die, between making sick and not doing everything in our power to avoid illness. So this blindness is immoral.
